First pitch of new Highline Bears Semi-Pro Baseball at Steve Cox Park May 30

On Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m., the Highline Bears will bring Semi-Pro baseball back to the Highline Community for the first time in over 30 years, when they take on the Snoqualmie Hurricanes at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center.

The Bears hope to pack the stadium with hundreds of families, spanning from White Center, West Seattle, Burien, Normandy Park, Des Moines and beyond.

Tickets to games are only $3 and kids 12 and under are free. Season tickets are also available for only $40, which includes a free t-shirt.

“We wanted to provide affordable family entertainment for everyone in our community” said General Manager Justin Moser.

In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s White Center Stadium (now Steve Cox Memorial Park) was the home of men’s semi-professional baseball and professional fast pitch softball teams. Several hundred adults, kids and families would fill the stands and sit along the side fences watching a high level of baseball under the lights on Friday and Saturday nights. The stadium hosted former professional baseball players, college athletes with dreams of making it to the big’s and men’s fast pitch teams like Pay n’ Pak and the King & His Court.

The Highline Bears are a new expansion team in the Pacific International League. The Pacific International League (PIL) was founded in 1992, the league is considered by many to be the premier Summer Collegiate Baseball league in the Northwest. Sanctioned by the National Baseball Congress (NBC), most PIL players are NCAA eligible and are unpaid in order to maintain their eligibility. The PIL is different from many other summer collegiate baseball leagues in that the league also allows former professionals and college graduates to participate.

The Bears roster is made up of 25 athletes, from all over the country and even one from Brisbane, Australia. The team plays around 40 games in just 60 days. Sixteen of those games are scheduled for Steve Cox Memorial Park. On June 19 the Bears will be hosting the US Military All-Stars for Military Appreciation night.

“We want to bring our community together through the game of baseball,” Moser added.

You can purchase tickets online at www.HighlineBears.com or at the gate on May 30. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the first pitch will be at 7 p.m..

The Bears are also still looking for sponsors and volunteers to help throughout the season. For more information, please contact Justin Moser at 253-310-6602 or e-mail [email protected].